Alaska - Day 14

We set out on our third day thinking we would go 8 miles and camp at Shoup Glacier, 12 miles and camp at Gold Creek, or go 16 miles and get all the way to Valdez.  We left our campsite in Sawmill Bay with some hope that it might clear up since we could see the mountains at the back of the bay.  Wishful thinking.  It was as rainy as ever but we were used to that by now.  As we paddled out of the bay into the Valdez arm the most striking thing was the armada of fishing boats for salmon season.  It was pretty cool watching how they use the nets and their boats.  

We were treated to many more waterfalls, more rain, and we loved it all.

Shoup Glacier was awesome.  It was a little difficult to get to.  The glacier and its bay is separated from the ocean by a bunch of land and there are two rivers that go in and out of the bay. If you get there at high tide you can just paddle in against a little bit of current.  We got there at anything but high tide so we had to line our kayak all the way up the river on slippery rocks and seaweed in our rubber boots. We managed though and were treated to a pretty great view of this tidewater glacier.

Our trip out out of the bay was quick and in a little bit of white water because the tide was just finishing going out. It was pretty fun and made up for the long journey in.  We kept paddling because we decided we were ready to get out of the rain for the night.  Along the way we saw Cliff Mine below.

After a late lunch break we finished up paddling to Valdez.  The tide was starting to go in and so we made incredible time for the last five miles or so.  It was still raining, but as we were finishing up we had mixed emotions because we were happy to get out of the rain but we wished we were still out kayaking.  After 55 miles or so in 3 days with constant rain we decided we were pretty tired and should just stay in a hotel for the night. Plus, we figured that since is was still raining the only way we would ever get our gear dry was to hang it all out in a hotel.
It was an epic trip and now we often talk about the next sea kayaking trip we are going to take and about how much easier it will be to plan now that we've done a pretty decent trip already.